


A House Becomes a Home

by Erstwhileknitter



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Comfort, Could be read as trans caleb, Cuddles, Everyone is dealing with their issues and nothing hurts, M/M, Male Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Protective Mollymauk, Schmoop, Symbolic Dreams, Y'all I just wanted to write pregnant caleb, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 07:03:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17279339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erstwhileknitter/pseuds/Erstwhileknitter
Summary: Curled up in his and Molly's bed, Caleb ponders the past and for once, looks forward to the future. Mollymauk dotes, as he is wont to do.





	A House Becomes a Home

**Author's Note:**

> Do we dare to imagine a future where the Mighty Nein are happy and safe? Yes, yes we do. Honestly, I just wanted to write domestic widomauk.

It was wonderful to have a place to come home to. It was something you took for granted until you didn’t have it anymore. Caleb would know. He’d been without one for a very long time. There were memories of ash and fire that burned too painfully to recall to testify to that. And after them came ten years of empty walls, a world made of gray and grime. How lucky he'd been to escape that world.  
He could never have predicted what would happen next. How a group of mismatched travelers would guide him into the best years of his life. He’d never expected to find a family and he certainly hadn’t dreamed he’d ever fall for an ostentatious Tiefling with a generous streak. It felt like more than he deserved. Caleb burrowed deeper under the blankets as he reflected. The night was chilly; winter had started to creep in, frosting over the last of the flowers. He was thankful they’d sprung for insulation. They could certainly afford it. He pushed away the memory of his parent’s house, how it hadn’t been insulated but it’d had its own kind of warmth nonetheless. He’d spent a lot of time trying to leave the past where it was. Recent events, though joyous, had the side effect of dredging it back up.  
“Caleb?”  
Caleb looked over as Mollymauk emerged from under the covers, red eyes glowing in the darkness. Caleb’s night vision was almost non-existent, but he could still tell Molly’s expression was concerned.  
“It’s the middle of the night, darling. What are you doing up?”  
Caleb shrugged, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thinking, I suppose.”  
Molly’s arms wrapped around Caleb, squeezing gently.  
“Is it the baby?” He asked, hand straying to Caleb’s middle.  
Caleb didn’t respond immediately, choosing to savor the Tiefling’s gentle touch. At only five months he was showing enough for people to take notice. In turn, Molly had become more protective, shielding Caleb from the unwanted touches of curious strangers and cajoling him into eating a little more at mealtimes. Unfortunately, he couldn’t protect Caleb from the things his mind conjured at night.  
“No,” Caleb reassured him. “I had a dream that got me wondering.”  
He could sense Mollymauk’s frown. “Good thoughts or bad thoughts?”  
“Both, actually.”  
He’d dreamed of his old home. Yet by nonsensical dream logic, it was also the new house the Mighty Nein had pooled their money to buy. He’d walked down the halls, passing the murals Jester had painted, into the foyer where Nott’s collection of shiny trinkets sat on the mantle and then he was in his old house. There, sitting in the ancient chairs that had been passed down from one generation of Widogasts to the next, were his parents. Normally, he only dreamed of them as silhouettes in a burning house, yet here they sat. Safe. Healthy.  
His mother had been rocking a cradle on the floor. His cradle, it had once been. She’d saved it, just in case he ever found the right person to settle down with. In the real world, that cradle had gone up in flames. She looked up when he came in and stood, bringing it over to him. Inside there was a blanket, red and blue and embroidered with suns and moons. She’d smiled. And then, he’d woken up. Not choking back screams, not uncomfortably lurching back to reality. There’d been a feeling of contentment not unlike how he felt upon finishing a good book.  
Molly listened quietly, rubbing circles on Caleb’s belly as he spoke.  
“I’m no dream interpreter,” He said once Caleb had finished. “But it sounds like your brain is telling you you’re ready to move forward.”  
Caleb swallowed thickly. He wasn’t sure why, but the thought put a lump in his throat. “Ja. Maybe.”  
Of all the trials they’d faced, the hardest had been for him to face the future. Hell, to believe there actually was one for the likes of him. He hadn’t had to do it alone, though.  
Molly pulled him closer. “You’re allowed to be happy, Caleb,” He murmured. “You know that, right?”  
Caleb sighed shakily, resting his hand on top of Molly’s. “I do. It’s…it’s hard to remember sometimes.”  
“ _Are _you happy?” Molly asked earnestly. “You know we can work it out together if something’s wrong.”__  
Just a year ago, that would have been a loaded question. There were some days even now when it was. But tonight, as they laid in their bed, in their room, in the house filled with friends, it was soothing. It was a reminder that he wasn’t huddled in a jail cell or locked in an asylum. Home wasn’t a one room hut anymore. Home was Jester cooking chocolate chip pancakes in the morning, Fjord humming sea shanties, Caduceus brewing tea. Home was Mollymauk’s arms. He knew he couldn’t go back to the past. He’d never be able to correct the mistakes of his younger self. But for the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel like he had to.  
“I am,” He kissed Molly. “ _Very _happy. There’s a lot to look forward to.”__  
“There certainly is,” Molly agreed. “Now, you need your rest. Goodness knows it’s going to become a limited resource in a few months.”  
Caleb hummed in acknowledgement. He scratched Frumpkin’s ears before settling down in Molly’s embrace.  
“I love you,” He said drowsily, closing his eyes.  
“Love you too.” Molly whispered, lips ghosting over his temple.  
Yes, Caleb thought as he drifted off. It was wonderful to a have a home.


End file.
